


Jealousy Is A Shade of Blue

by boardwalk



Category: One Piece
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Break Up, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Hurting Sabo because I can, Little do the kids know, M/M, Nosy people are nosy, Supportive Parental Figures, Unrequited Love, so apologies if the fic title doesn't make sense, the adults have a groupchat, the doc title is me bashing my face on the keyboard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-02-09 14:15:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18639757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/boardwalk/pseuds/boardwalk
Summary: Ace is in love with someone else, and he has a problem with that. A problem he didn't know existed until it was too late.Alternatively: Ace isn't dating Sabo and everyone is confused.





	Jealousy Is A Shade of Blue

**Author's Note:**

> Day 4 for saboaceweek! The prompt is Unrequited Love
> 
> I swear this fic was meant to be posted a month ago but it kept getting longer and longer and I've been stuck in re/editing hell.  
> And I still don't know how to follow the prompt, would you look at that ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

When Ace tells them that he has a girlfriend over the family table, Sabo was the first one to congratulate him. Or rather, he was the only one to.

The clinks and clatters of their dinner stop almost immediately, and are replaced by bemused silence. Ace continues eating and Luffy saw his chance to add more to his plate. Sabo looks up to catch a number of stares in his direction, but they quickly avert before he could discern why. 

Roger shares a glance with Rouge, then clears his throat. “So. A girlfriend, huh?”

“Yup,” he says nonchalantly, just as he did when he told them the news. “It’s not that much of a surprise, is it?”

Opening his mouth, Roger starts to respond until a scathing glare from his wife holds his tongue.

Shakky instead replies, “it’s only a little surprising.”   


Ace sputters while Luffy cackles at him. “Wow, Shakky.” 

“Well, you’ve never talked about girls,” she states bluntly, eyebrow raised as if she spotted a fib. 

The adults fall into another silence, seemingly not knowing what to do. Sabo observes them quietly. Rayleigh looks like he’d rather be anywhere. Shakky and Rouge communicate with each other telepathically as women do. Roger struggles with what he wants to say but charges anyways as he places his palms on the table and leans forward. 

“Are you  _ sure _ -!” He jumps in his seat and his moustache twitches funnily. 

From under the table, Rouge places her heel back on the floor and Roger mutters as he adjusts himself on the chair.

“What’s that, old man?”

“Nothing, nothing.” He waves him off and lets out a deafeningly loud laugh. “Ah, my only kid is dating now. I feel old!”

Sabo continues to stuff his face while they talk, swallowing down any comments that this, in fact, is not the first time that Ace is dating someone. It’s not his first girlfriend, and definitely not his first partner, but it is the first time he’s told the family. Idly, he wonders why Ace  bothered announcing it. His relationships never lasted longer than a month, and were barely worth mentioning.

He pats at his chest lightly, willing the food to go down. Rayleigh wordlessly hands him a glass of water and he drinks it with no question. 

Luffy starts chattering about his day. Although he gets an itch on his neck, a feeling like he’s being watched and scrutinized, he ignores it and smiles as Ace laughs at their little brother’s adventures.

  
  


As the week flies by, he’s slowly getting the impression that they know something he doesn’t. Maybe it had something to do with Ace ditching him more frequently, but he can’t directly ask the person in question if he’s nowhere to be found. 

They whisper and tiptoe around him. Normally, he’d be frustrated at being left out of the loop if he wasn’t so perplexed at everybody’s weird, sudden behavior. 

Rouge gave him a hug when she told him Ace wasn’t home and sent him back with a sympathetic pat on his head.

The next time, Roger tried to steer him in the direction of Shakky’s bar, marching them straight to the front door before Sabo reminded him that he was still underage.

Rayleigh said they’d allow it, just this once. He declined. Shakky offered him a cigarette and he declined that as well. 

At the end of the night, he was given a very awkward invitation to “talk about it,” which he quickly rejected because he didn’t know what ‘it’ is, and at that point he was too afraid to ask. 

He doesn’t know how to respond to Shanks’s and Buggy’s texts to go out, so he doesn’t.

Somehow, the grapevine reached Dragon. He knew it when Dragon frowned at him more than he usually did and asked him if he wanted to take some time off his part-time job. Sabo assures him that he doesn’t.

Despite this weird turn of events, he’s mostly puzzled why Ace isn’t around anymore.

  
  


“He’s probably out with his girlfriend.”

“Are you jealous?”

“What?” He snaps his head up from the wild accusation. “Of course not, why would you think that?”

“‘Cause you said that a bajillion times already!” Luffy exclaims, throwing his arms out with a controller on one hand. The screen explodes in blood as the bold K.O. letters appear shortly. “I’ve been kicking your ass for ten rounds and you’re too busy looking at your phone! Come on, Sabo!”

Scoffing, he tosses his phone over his shoulder and holds the controller properly. “I didn’t say it a ‘bajillion’ times and please, I was only giving you a chance to warm up.”

Luffy was actually a formidable opponent but trash-talking distracted him from anticipating their missing member’s arrival. The space next to him felt hollow and the lack of correspondence set him on the edge. 

They get back on the flow, button-mashing and elbowing each other because Sabo being called out means he needs to put his little brother back in his place. If he kicked his ass with too much flare, it’s only payback for the jealousy comment.

Thirty minutes later, his phone vibrates and he picks it up in a flash. His shoulders sag and he forgets to hide the disappointment. 

“He’s not coming.”

“Really?” Luffy doesn’t sound shocked in the slightest, opening up another box of pizza. “Oh well, more food for us!”

He swipes his own slices before the other could eat it all, glaring at his phone as if it insulted him. 

“What an asshole, ‘could’ve at least told us sooner.” 

The short text blurs in front of his eyes as Luffy bounces back on the couch. “He’s with the girlfriend,” he states like it’s an obvious answer.

Sabo takes a bite of his own pizza and makes a dismissive sound. “So? Didn’t stop him from showing up before.”

“She’s different,” Luffy says as he eats, attention shifting to the game. “Let’s play again!”

  
  


For some reason, the comment lingered in his mind like a warning.

Sabo brushed it off at first. Ace had a weird inclination of accepting dates from people he found remotely interesting, passing it off as a way to meet new people and explore what he’d like in a partner. Most ended without flair or consequence, so he didn’t see the harm. 

Try as he might though, Sabo couldn’t remember if he’d heard of this girl before. There’s a strange pang of insult that Luffy knew about her before he did. Sabo was always the first to know, and now he’s curious. 

He gets his wish when Ace finally answers his texts, and regrets it immediately when Ace doesn't stop talking about her. 

His voice has blended in with the chirping of the birds and Sabo is bored out of his mind. A shame, because they're having a beautiful weather and they're sitting here at home on the porch like this wasn't the first time they've seen each other in forever. They could be running off somewhere more adventurous instead of this pointless droll.

“Are you still mad at me ‘cause I missed game night?”

“Nope.”

The truth. He was more irked that he’d been ditched this many times in a row, and he couldn't get a word in a

“I said I was sorry!” Ace butts his head on his shoulder and whines, “Sabooo, don’t be mad!”

He shoves him off and tries to keep a neutral face. “That only works when Luffy does it, you weirdo.”

Ace laughs at him, and Sabo finds that he couldn’t hold his grudge in place at the presence of his sunshine smile. He’s been happier lately, newly invigorated with unusual cheer. It’s infectious and makes him frustratingly more endearing.

He wonders where it came from. 

“I’ll make it up to you. You free over the weekend?”

“Sure.”

“Great! You can meet my girl-”

His mood instantly sours. For a moment, he thought the two of them could hang out like they used to. Not pratter more about this girl.

“On second thought-”

“Come on, you’ll like her, I know it.”

“No offense but I have more important things to do than to be bitched at by one of your partners. Again.”

“That only happened once!” He pauses, and revises.“Maybe twice, but you can be so rude, Sab’.”

“Tough. I didn’t like the way they treated you like-” he wrinkles his nose, “-some trophy boyfriend.”

“You didn’t like any of the people I dated,” Ace states matter-of-factly then interjects before he could argue, “and she doesn’t. It’s weird but it's like we connect, y’know? I find her really easy to talk to. She’s kinda like you that way.” 

Highly unlikely, he quickly dismisses, then steps back. He’s proving Ace right by this thought process. 

Sabo shakes his head, dispelling the foreboding whisper of an emotion he couldn’t name. He wants to insist that he’s indifferent to Ace’s past relationships, that his opinion of them isn’t as harsh as Ace implies it to be, but he has a feeling that he wouldn’t win this particular battle with ease. 

Instead, he asks wryly, “I’m easy to talk to?”

“Only when you want to be.”

  
  


Dadan calls to him from an open window, “don’t go crying if you don’t like what you see.” 

Ace had already gone inside, eager to set up the date with Sabo’s begrudging approval. As he’s talking on the phone, Dadan sneers at him through her cigarette, puffing out phrases that sounded like ‘insensitive brat’ and ‘bad idea.’

Sabo dismisses the irritation of being spied on and asks, “why’s it a bad idea?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be the smart one? Figure it out fast or you’ll regret it.”

She levels him with a stare that had the same air of expectation he’s come to find with the rest of the adults. Annoyance flares. He feels like he’s being purposely kept in the dark, yet still expected to make his way out.

“And you would know?”

“Of course I do,” she brags, “call it woman’s intuition.”

“Huh. Didn’t know you were included in that.”

“You damn brat!”

She flicks the cigarette his way before slamming the window shut. Sabo stomps it under his heel with more force than necessary. 

  
  


He finds himself meeting them on chilly day for brunch, in a fancier part of town, at a restaurant that he’s never been to, one with a salad section that occupied too much of the menu for his liking. 

“It’s nice to finally meet you,” she says as she reaches over to shake his hand. 

Her hand is surprisingly small and slender, his fingers completely cover hers when he reciprocates the greeting.

“Likewise. He’s told me so much about you, I feel like I know your life story."

She laughs a little too loudly. Personally, he doesn’t think that it warranted a laugh but he’s trying to keep his prejudice on a tight leash. Ace expected him on his good behavior, but that doesn’t mean he has to be genuine about it. Despite that, she easily traps him in a conversation. 

Too easily. They agree with each other more than not, the conversation flowing without the need for Ace’s help. If she was nothing more than a new friend, he could see her fitting in with them. 

The more she talks, the more he feels the situation becoming off-kilter.

Sabo expected the usual type he gets to meet: brash, obnoxious, and weirdly hostile over his position as The Best Friend. She was a wild card, the total opposite. His imagination pictured another faceless figure in the pool of people that Ace has dated in the past, simply another person who had captured Ace’s interest and would leave at the first sign of trouble. That is, the first sign being him.

But… Luffy may be right.

He watches Ace as she talks to him, notices the way the shadows on his face are softer even in the harsh lighting and how he melts a little when she glances at him. It’s unsettling to see him be open and smiley with another, and Sabo knows enough of Ace’s smiles to be unfamiliar with the one he’s giving her. 

His stomach turns.

“Sorry, am I talking too much?” She asks mildly and Ace looks his way.

Quickly he catches the downturned corners of his mouth and grins too widely as he gestures at his plate. “No, no, I think I ordered the wrong dressing.”

She offers to switch Ace’s plate with his and he chuckles half-heartedly as they fight over it. They bicker and Sabo’s lost on the other side of their inside jokes. He doesn’t know what to say, Ace is busy teasing her to lend him a hand. She’s completely comfortable in a space Ace barely allows anybody but family in.

As she smacks Ace on the arm for being greedy and him laughing at her, he’s dismayed to see why she’s different from the rest and why Ace likes her better than others.

She’s lovely. 

In the end, she gives him a hug and jokes that she should bring a friend for him to meet for a double date. He laughs it off politely as he turns her down and bites down a snappy remark when Ace agreed it would be a good idea. 

While they walk away from him, he stays rooted to the spot, catching the way Ace puts an arm around her shoulders and kisses her on the lips. He can hear her giggling and see the same blinding unrecognizable smile on his face. 

Funny, he said he didn’t do PDA. 

He has a serious case of heartburn on the walk home, and he blames it on the shit salad. 

  
  


_ did you like her? _

The screen stares at him unblinkingly in the dark. He hesitates in replying, fingers hovering over the keys, mind racing to compile his complaints in a judgement that he could agree with. 

_ She’s great. _

Sighing, he buries his face in the pillow. It was hard to think with the heartburn finding its way down to his gut. His ears still ring with the sound of her laughter after being kissed in the open. 

_ I told you so! look at that you finally approved  _

It wasn’t exactly approval.

  
  


A fruit basket waits for him outside his apartment door through the following days. Makino wishes him well and reminds him to visit when he’s feeling better. Among the plethora of vague texts that asked about his well-being, he thanks her and ignores the rest.

Especially the one inviting him out to a stupid double date. 

  
  


His favorite ice cream is placed on his lap and he looks up to find Koala with her own dessert. Sabo is reminded of how uncharacteristically charming she’s been towards him lately, less argumentative and less nagging. 

Still, he’s suspicious, he bitterly remembers how Ace’s family is acting towards him, and now Koala’s being… sweet? 

Narrowing his eyes, he asks, “why are you being so nice to me?”

“You say that like I’m not always nice to you.” He looks at her blankly and she shoves him lightly enough. “Maybe I’m not the nicest girl in the world but, come on, I’m not going to let my best friend go through this alone.” She wiggles deeper into the cushions, making herself comfortable. “So, if you wanna talk about it, I’m all ears.”

“Talk about what?” 

He’s been getting too many offers to talk about a problem he doesn’t know about and he’s getting more irritated as time passes. 

“You know.” At his lack of reply, she whispers as if others could hear even though they’re the only ones in the apartment, “the girlfriend.”

It takes a while for it to click. His primary strategy of ignoring her existence, regardless of how it would also ignore Ace’s absence from his life, works with limitations. The adults like to bring her up carefully but drop the subject when Sabo’s not in the mood. And he's never in the mood to talk about her. 

“Ace’s girlfriend?” He wonders why Koala’s interested but at least she’s direct. “Yeah, I’ve met her. She’s great. We get along.”

“You have? You do?” She exclaims, then falls flat when he doesn't offer any explanation. “...I thought you’d be more upset.”

“Why would I be,” he huffs and shovels the ice cream in his mouth. 

“I don’t know,” she says, but she clearly does. 

“He’s dated other people before.” He digs his spoon in forcefully. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Hold on, he’s dated other people before?” Koala repeats, shaking her head incredulously. She leans closer like she could inspect every tell on his darkening expression. “And what, you don’t mind? You’re not jealous?”

The comment strikes a nerve and his loses his temper. 

“Why does everyone think I’m supposed to be jealous?!” He explodes, and she retracts herself from his personal space hastily. “His family, Luffy, and even Dragon are acting weird around me since he started _ dating her _ . They keep  _ looking _ at me like- like, I don’t even know, because I don’t know what’s going on and nobody would tell me anything!” 

He knows he’s revealed too much resentment and a little too much of his personal feelings, but since meeting her, it’s like his reality is turned out of its axis and off its orbit and he's struggling to find some ground to stand on. 

Sabo vehemently wishes for the normal days, where soft comments don't throw him off, and when Ace used to help him feel stable. 

Koala’s staring at him like the others do, with a look that he now identifies as  _ pity _ . 

“Oh, honey.”

“Don’t start.”

“Nope.” She tugs at his sweater when he tries to stand, she gives up the gentle facade and forcibly yanks him back on the couch. “Humor me, alright? We’re gonna get to the bottom of your issues.”

“I don’t have any issues!”

The grip on his sweater tightens and she smiles with too much teeth. 

“Great! Then we won’t have any problems with just talking.” 

Sighing, he falls into the space next to her and sullenly glares at his melting dessert. 

“What’s bothering you?” 

“I hate how he’s been blowing me off,” he admits grudgingly. “We used to talk all the time, you know? Now, he doesn’t text me back or answer his calls and when we do talk, it’s all about her. It’s like she’s the only thing that exists.”

“That’s typically what happens. My friends did it, too. Honeymoon phase and all that.”

She waves her hand dismissively in the air and he shakes his head, adamant. Ace didn't have those phases. 

“But he never acted this way before! That’s what’s weird. First, he tells his family that he’s dating. Second, he never told me about her beforehand. Then now, he ditches me all the time.”

“What, he’s never ditched you in his previous relationships?”

“Never. One time, his boyfriend threw a fit because he didn’t like that I kept coming over to Ace’s house - which, screw that, I was here first - and that I slept over in his room. He obviously didn’t like me and it got too much that Ace broke up with him.”

Sabo didn't like that one in particular either. He was too clingy and possessive. It was an extreme case but there was no question that the guy was delusional in thinking he could forbid Sabo from the family house. Ace had been offended as well. 

Koala tilts her head to the side, pensive. Her gaze sharpens like she's trying to piece together a puzzle. 

“... Is this a recurring thing? Did this happen a lot?”

“Not a lot. Well, they didn’t stick around for too long after meeting me, anyways.”

“You weren’t doing this on purpose, right?” 

“What? No, I don’t care that he’s dating. I care that we don’t hang out anymore.” His shoulders slump and he sadly puts aside the bowl. “I can’t talk about my day without him bringing her up. It’s such a pain.”

She nods along before asking, “so how’s his family treating it.”

“I don't know, they won't talk about it when I'm around,” he answers bitterly.“But they know something and it’s pissing me off. Do you know how annoying it is to not know what’s going on but everyone else does, and they won’t tell you that you’re in the middle of it?” 

Koala sighs. “You really don’t have a clue.”

“I do,” he states pointedly, “they’re trying to make me feel better that Ace has a girlfriend.”

“Oh.” She blinks in surprise. “Right.”

“And they think I’m sad because I don’t have one.”

“Sorry, what?”

Sabo recounts the bar invitations, the sympathetic text messages, and the jealousy comments. Sure, he’s not interested in finding someone to date like Ace is, but he finds it a little offensive that the family would think he’d resent Ace for it when they found out about his ‘first’ girlfriend. 

“Is it ‘cause I’m single and he’s not? Because what the hell, for the last time I don’t care that he’s dating, I’m not jealous, I just want my best friend back.”

“You’re totally jealous!” Koala affirms loudly. Before he could respond, she takes hold of his shoulders and looks him straight in the eye. “Sabo, you idiot, no one’s saying you can’t get a date! They know you’re not jealous of Ace. You’re jealous of  _ her _ .”

“No, I’m not.” 

What a preposterous idea. That can’t happen. 

That's not true. 

His mind races to find an argument. He doesn't understand how she came to that conclusion, especially since it implies the outrageous. It can't be the reason why. 

Because if he was jealous of her, then what would that mean for him? 

Koala smacks her forehead and groans, “I can’t believe… wow! All this time, I thought you and Ace were dating. Then, I find out that you’re not. Now, I find out that you don’t even know you have feelings for him!”

She thought that he and Ace were dating? Koala’s known him for years. She must be joking. 

“-it makes sense now, but seriously? Sabo, I didn't know you could be this dense.”

“I don’t have feelings for Ace.”

“Um, yes, you do!” She says with certainty. “Think about it. The hangouts, the sleepovers, the texts and the calls, the reason why his past relationships were intimidated by you? It’s because you were practically his pseudo-boyfriend!”

He sputters at the accusations, still lost at where the romantic implications began. They were best friends since they were children, it was only natural for their daily lives to be intertwined in this way. And part of his Best Friend privileges meant weaning off the unsavory people; there wasn’t anything selfish about it.

“Have you ever thought that maybe, the reason why you didn’t care Ace dated other people is because he always chose you over his partners?” 

“That’s…”

True. She’s got him there. 

It didn’t bother him until Ace decided to leave him behind and in the dark. 

“Let me give you another one. You’re used to them not sticking around. What are you going to do if this is the one who stays?”

_ She’s different _ . S _ he’s lovely.  _

Sabo doesn't get the chance to reply. His heart responds for him by skipping a beat in panic. The memory of Ace kissing her and walking away from him drains him of his stubbornness. Imagining that silhouette becoming permanent strikes dread and fear, makes the cold spread through his fingertips. 

I don't want that, he thinks desperately. 

He wonders if the sudden helplessness that's drowning his other emotions is written on his face. It was enough for Koala to break out of her tirade and place a comforting hand on his shoulder. 

“You need to figure this out,” she says, voice soft but firm. 

  
  


_ You don’t even know you have feelings for him. _

The words replay over and over in his head and keeps him awake that night.

He supposes there is some merit to them. It’s not the first time someone assumed he and Ace were something more, but it is the first time he’s been accused of having feelings for his best friend.

Truth be told, he knew he felt too deeply about Ace, to the point where the ‘best friends’ label just wasn’t enough to describe their relationship.

Sabo’s life started when he was five years old. 

He ran away from home to play in the playground that his parents forbid because the children there were beneath him. Sabo disagreed; he wasn’t above wanting a friend. So he found one in another boy his age who reached out to him first and asked if he wanted to play pirates.

That was their first adventure together.

When Rouge had come to collect her son, he bawled and wailed because he didn’t want his only friend to go, didn’t want to go back to being alone. For once, someone saw him beyond the fortune and the family name. 

He remembers very clearly how Ace held his hand and asked his mother if they could keep him. And they did, and just like that, Ace gave him a home. 

_ Figure it out fast, or you’ll regret it.  _

Ace was his first friend, his confidant, his partner in crime, his family. 

Of course he has deep feelings for him. Loves him, even. 

But he hopes it isn’t the kind that will leave him with nothing.

 

 

The epiphany happens on the phone when he’s walking through a busy street and Ace’s staticky voice tells him that he might be in love. 

“I kinda want her to meet Mom and the old man.”

His feet stop working and he’s wholly unprepared for the way his chest suddenly wrenches and how his heart drops to his fucking knees. 

This isn’t real, he thinks. This isn’t just another fling anymore.

“Sab? You there?”

Instinct forces him to remember how to breathe and his trembling hands fumble with the device. 

“You’re breaking up over here. I’ll call you later.”

He can hear sirens wailing in the distance, and he decides that he’s no longer in the mood to be outside.  
  


 

Ace is in love with someone else and he has a problem with that. A problem that he didn’t know existed, but everyone else knew about. 

The universe teaches him a hard lesson in humility when he realizes that they were right all along, he was wrong, and he’s paying the price. 

There’s a gaping hole in his chest that grows wider as he’s piecing together the facts in his life and all of them had to do with the fact that he’s devoted to his best friend from the start. Angrily, he wonders why put the pieces together if the bigger picture is going to be shattered anyways. He feels like he’s been skewered through his ribcage.

This is why they treated him so delicately and he’s never felt as fragile as he does now. He was the last to know, and the last one to see how badly he had screwed himself up. 

Worst of all, he could pinpoint the moment he had become careless. It was when Ace told him about his first boyfriend, and he had been wracked with nerves, worried that he would be replaced. 

_ You’re used to them not sticking around. _

But time and time again, his place at his best friend’s side was reaffirmed with every breakup and he grew cocky. It didn’t matter if he dated other people because no one knows Ace as well as he does. He wasn’t going anywhere. 

_ What are you going to do if this is the one who stays? _

Because when he said dating, it wasn’t supposed to mean commitment. It wasn’t supposed to mean love.

It wasn’t supposed to be her.

“Shit…” 

He pulls the pillow over his head and fails to go to sleep.

It’s a cold and lonely night when Sabo accepts that he loves Ace in that way, but it hurts to know that it’s a love he failed to realize and will not witness.

  
  


“You look like crap,” says Koala. 

“I feel like crap,” he replies. 

She makes a sympathetic noise. 

He does his best to drown himself in work, hoping that by sinking himself into the workflow, he’d forget about the heartbreak. 

  
  


This time, when the family invites him to the house for a party, he lets them dote on him a little. 

They tell him that she’s not coming, the underlying comment suggesting that Ace won’t be there either. 

It hurts his pride that they know him too well but he supposes there isn’t much of it left, seeing as how they figured it out long before he ever did.

The house is crowded but not overly so where he couldn’t move around easily. He thinks it’s better this way; no one would pay too much attention to how he leans into Rouge’s hug longer, or how he doesn’t smack away Shanks ruffling his hair, or how he’s swiped more than his fair share of the cake. 

While the party is in its full swing, Sabo sits at the porch steps, away from the others. The creaking of the floorboards tell him he has company, and he accepts the beer handed to him quietly. 

“Seems like you finally caught up.” 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he mumbles as he flicks his thumb against the bottle cap. 

“I’ve never been good at the waitin’ game m’self,” Roger grumbles as he slowly lowers himself to sit next to him.

“Waiting game?”

“Waitin’ for the opportunity to present itself, of course,” he says loudly, then elbows him when he doesn’t catch his meaning. “The break up, boy! Once she’s outta the picture, you swoop in before another takes your place.”

“My place,” he repeats dully, and shakes his head at the absurdity of Roger giving him advice on how to date his son. “Why are you telling me this? I thought you’d want to kick me out of his life.”

Roger lets out an unremorseful laugh, then takes a swig.

It was no secret that the man was fiercely protective of his family, especially his only child. Sabo knew that if Roger found out about Ace’s first boyfriend, he’d be in handcuffs with a smile as he’d be arrested for killing the poor bastard. Ace confessed that it was the reason why he didn’t want his family to know he’s been seeing people. 

“I did plan to,” he admitted. “Fifteen years ago. But, look at that, you’re still here!” 

He gestures to him like he was surprised Sabo stuck around, but cuts back on the humor when he remains silent. 

Sighing, he scratches the back of his neck and looks up at the sky. “Ah, let’s just say that Rouge and I had a feeling when our boy brought you home from the park. You two got attached to each other so fast, we knew it’d be bad to keep you apart. So, we didn’t… I’d say we did the right thing.”

Sabo swallows down the lump in his throat and has his eyes fixed on the bottle, gripping it tightly between his palms.

Regardless of their relationship, he knows he still has a place in Ace’s family. The fact that he’s greedy enough to want more, stings like a festering wound. 

Roger puts a hand on his head. “Give it a couple of months, kid. It won’t last.” 

  
  


People have their hearts broken every day and while he continues to be surprised at all the ways it hurts, he stands his ground. He straps his heart back to his chest and walks the same path he does to work and school.

Sabo endures, accepts the heartbreak, and moves on with his life. 

He has plenty of distractions; he does have a life outside of Ace but there is no denying that he thrived under his attention. It’s like being in the center spotlight all these years. Now that it’s shifted to another, he’s left lost and alone in the dark. 

Rationally, he knows that Roger is right. There’s a slight chance that Ace and this girl will be forever but still, the uncertainty of it plagues him. He doesn’t know how long he’ll have to endure being second best, because pining isn’t his strong suit and every second is no less painful than the last. 

He tries to do both the selfish and selfless action. It takes a lot of willpower, but he decides to avoid Ace for his own sake.

  
  


“Are you guys fighting?” Luffy asks one day, voice serious and eyes sad. 

“No,” he says honestly. 

Because that would imply that they would have to speak in order to get into a fight. 

Ace did put in the effort, and through no small effort of his own, he’s deflected and passed over any attempts to communicate. It's childish and cowardly, he knows, but he’s afraid that he’ll receive news that will hurt worse than Ace wanting to bring her home. 

“He misses you a lot.”

  
  


Sabo gets a message at 2 am in the morning, a very short line:  _ we broke up _ .

Squinting at the harsh light of his phone, he sits upright. It doesn’t register yet in his sleep addled brain, but his fingers type for him,  _ Do you want me to come over? _

_ please _

Within five minutes, he’s out the door. 

  
  


For how long their relationship lasted, he knows that this isn’t a breakup that a pizza and a game can cure but he didn’t know how bad it would be until Ace covers his eyes with his hands and the tears make an appearance. 

Oh no, Sabo thinks as he starts blinking rapidly. 

He’s always been weak to Ace’s tears, mainly because it should be illegal to make him cry. The way he cries is so heart wrenchingly  _ lonely _ , it compels Sabo to do insane things to make him stop because the pain in his chest won't subside until he sees Ace smile again. 

His own hurt is only a fraction of the pain he feels whenever Ace cries. 

Without hesitation, he gathers him up in his arms and guides his head to lean on his shoulder. It’s another bad sign when Ace doesn’t resist and sheds his tears quietly where Sabo can perfectly hear. 

“This is so stupid, ‘crying over a dumb thing,” he mutters under uneven breaths. 

“It’s not,” he replies as he places a hand on the back of his neck. “You loved her.”

The words slip out of his mouth with difficulty and he’s thankful that Ace couldn't see the way his lips twist into a grimace. 

Ace stills against him then looks up with big, wet eyes. “I don’t know about that anymore.”

Pausing, he pulls away slightly to search his expression for the truth. Despite the swelling around his eyes and the redness on his nose, Sabo’s caught on how pretty he looks. His fingers itch to cup his face and thumb away stray tears; to wipe away her marks and replace it with his comfort. 

A small hiccup breaks him out of his reverie and he has to smother the overbearing feelings telling him that it’s cute, but now isn't the time even though he’s elated by Ace’s admission. His head feels light, his heart is pulling him in different directions and can't settle on one emotion, it makes him dizzy. 

But above the dizziness is the strongest compulsion to kiss him. 

Instead, he occupies his hands in pulling back the covers. “Let's watch a movie. I’ll even sit through those god awful Wild West movies you like so much.”

“Screw you. Cowboys are better than the sci-fi shit you're into,” Ace says hoarsely and shimmies close to him so they could fit on the mattress.

They settle into the bed and watch as the TV screen shows a generic mysterious man enter a saloon with his ten gallon hat. Their sides are pressed together warmly and Sabo’s mind drifts to how this is the closest contact he’s had with Ace since that awful revelation of being in love with him. He leans into him more, deprived after keeping himself away for so long. 

You shouldn't be enjoying this, his mind objects.

Ace rubs his face on his shirt and before Sabo could complain at being used as a tissue, he whispers, “thanks for being here.”

The small comment of sincere gratitude cuts sharply. With how Sabo’s been keeping his distance, it was clear that Ace expect him to show up. 

He promises himself that he’d do better. 

With the knowledge of the breakup and that maybe Ace wasn’t as in love with this girl as he thought, it was all too painfully easy to allow himself to hope. 

  
  


Ace is sullen and despondent, barely cracking a smile but he supposes it could be worse. At least he isn't crying. Anything but that. 

He isn't so shameless as to jump the gun, regardless of how starved he is from the night of the break up. Against Roger’s questionably better judgement, he let Ace be, and gave him space until Luffy complained about being turned away. 

From his own experience, Sabo believes he knows a thing or two about nursing a broken heart, what with all the ways that the family and his own friends tried to cheer him up with. So on the third week of Ace shutting them out, he shows up at his door with deathly spicy curry and a brave face. 

As Ace examines the bag curiously, Sabo is reminded of Shanks’s suggestion of flowers. While Ace likes flowers, Sabo knows that food triumphs over all and especially nothing could beat Ace’s favorite food. 

“Don't think it's all for you. I didn't drive thirty minutes for you to eat it all.” 

“But you hate this,” Ace says doubtfully, staring at him with suspicion. “You can't stand spicy.”

He brushes past him and enters the kitchen. “I can, I just can't stand your brand of ‘trying to light my insides on fire’ spicy.” After a pause, he adds, “but if you’re too busy crying to handle the heat, then I’ll give it to Luffy.”

Ace considers him for a second then gives a small smirk, his gloom melting away at the presence of a challenge. “Fine, but don't blame me if you throw up.”

Moments later, he’s bent over the sink running his mouth under the tap while Ace laughs gleefully in the background. 

If Sabo didn't think he was in love before, he’s definitely convinced now. While he's spitting fire and cursing every swear, Ace’s bright laughter is bouncing off the walls.

It was totally worth it. 

  
  


On a clear day, they head to the docks at Sabo’s insistence. Originally, he had only planned for them to go to the beach but Rayleigh had tossed him the keys once he found out. 

“Don't do anything too illegal. Last time, I had to pull a lot of strings with the Coast Guard.”

“You mean bribe the Coast Guard?”

“I mean bribing Garp.”

He laughs at the older man’s disgruntled expression and promises not to get into trouble this time. 

In the end, he keeps his promise. 

They watch the sunset fall beyond the horizon, the sky folding brilliant colors into a romantic picture Sabo’s only seen in the movies. He’s been here before, on the same boat, on the same waters, but not quite under a sky like this. 

“She didn't like the ocean,” Ace says in passing. He doesn’t mention why they broke up in the first place, or who ended it with who. 

Sabo isn’t about to ask, not when Ace closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. 

There's gold in his hair where the breeze ruffles through, and gold on the high points of his cheeks where the water hits. The pink and purple hues lessen the shadows on his face, making him look more at peace than anything. He wears the sunset well. 

“Her loss, she’s missing the view.”

Ace opens his eyes, looks to him and smiles. 

What a perfect day. 

  
  


They go on more adventures after that. Sometimes with Luffy, sometimes in a big group with their friends, but always together. At the end of their outings, they’d be inconspicuously left alone and they'll try to fill their moments with other things to do until there was nothing left do but to sleep and start over the following morning. 

It was fun, it was thrilling, and it was the best way to distract from the breakup. Ace seemed to brighten up each time they meet. 

But Sabo’s favorite activities were the quiet ones; the ones where they were indoors, lying lazily on the bed or on the couch, huddled together for no reason other than they want to be. It seemed like that first night set precedence for moments like these, with Ace pressed comfortably at his side and slowly sinking further into his arms as the movie progresses. 

You’re a horrible person, Sabo’s conscience scolds as he sighs contentedly. 

There's a part of him that’s undeniably guilty. It stays his hand from reaching for his and shushes him from speaking the truth. He loves him too much to take advantage, and he doesn't strive to, but he lets himself take pleasure when Ace comes to him on his own. Sabo knows that in the end, it's Ace’s call to make. 

“You're not pitying me, are you? ‘Cause I'll kick your ass if you are.” 

The petulant mutter interrupts his dozing and Sabo stifles a whine. “I’m not pitying you.”

“You sure?” 

“You're annoying,” he groans, wanting to go back to his nap. “There's no pity. I said I'm trying to help you feel better.”

“Well, I guess, but…”

“What is it?”

“I don't know. You're a lot nicer than normal.”

“Is that so bad? I like making you happy. I wish you’d let me do that.”

He’s met with silence. 

It takes a second for his mind to connect with what he revealed and he very nearly jerks out of their huddle at his honesty. Suddenly, he’s too aware of how their limbs are tangled and how their bodies are molded together on the hollow of the couch. Their combined body heat, earlier a cozy warmth, is sweltering and making him sweat. 

Ace doesn't reply and Sabo reluctantly follows his gaze to the hand resting innocently on his chest. Nervously, he wonders if Ace could feel his heart making an absolute racket under his palm. 

“Are you uncomfortable?” He asks, unnerved. 

Carefully, he starts to remove his arm from around the other’s shoulders. 

“No, no.” He ducks forward so his cheek could rest on his shoulder, wrapping his arm around his waist as if to stop him from pulling away. “It feels nice.”

Dark strands tickle his neck and he makes a conscious effort to breathe slowly so his pulse would stop drumming in his ears. He relaxes back on the couch, relieved and oddly delighted. He doesn't know what to make of the other’s actions but it was doing a splendid job in raising his hopes. 

“Good,” he murmurs, “I missed you, dumbass.”

“I missed you, too.” Ace leans into him more and tightens his hold briefly like he’s giving him a hug. “I’m sorry that I kept ditching you, before. I get that you're still mad.”

“Forget about it, it doesn't matter anymore.” To his surprise, he means it completely. He feels whole and put together, being held like this; it was more than his daydreams could provide because it was utterly real. He sighs, “and yeah, I was mad but you're more important than dumb grudges. I’m here for you, alright? Always.”

Sabo hides his smile in dark hair, lips unintentionally brushing against the top of his head. He turns his attention to the movie, unaware of the deep flush coloring over freckled cheeks. 

The credits roll an hour later, and the parents come home to find their son sprawled all over the blond like a blanket.

Sabo shrinks under their scrutiny, feeling embarrassed that they're almost indecently cuddled up to each other as if they were in the privacy of Ace’s room and not out in the public space. 

Roger starts miming incomprehensible hand signs and he has to remind himself that he respects this man. 

He shakes his head, no. 

The resulting disappointed stare makes him indignant and frantic for them to leave, so he waves them off.

Rouge, his saving grace, shoos her husband up the stairs and leaves him be. 

Not a full fifteen minutes pass before Sabo’s phone lights up with congratulatory messages. He again reminds himself that these are people he respects, and would not want to be on bad terms with, so he explains as politely as he can. 

_ Everybody shut up, I don't know what he told you but nothing happened, we aren't together, quit spamming me- _

His furious typing must've jostled Ace from his sleep but he settles easily, tucking his head under his chin and sweetly murmuring his name. 

Sabo all but chucks the phone at a padded recliner, puts a hand to his face, and screams internally. 

  
  


The next couple of weeks were blissful. They were back on routine and then some. It seemed as if their time together made way for new developments in their relationship. 

Ace is more open with him than ever, prone to pointless touches and instigating physical affection. While they weren't averse to casual affection before, there was a lot of underlying intimacy now. 

And if Ace became more affectionate, Sabo became greedy. 

He held on to every lingering touch and stare, could barely contain himself with unbridled hope that maybe, just maybe, his feelings weren't as unwelcome as he’d thought they'd be. It was becoming more impossible to look away, not when Ace would have his bright eyes focused on him. 

  
  


Eventually, she was nothing more than a memory. He doesn't mean to be spiteful but not a day goes by that he isn't happy that she’s out of their lives. 

And yet.

Sabo thinks he's done a good job at helping Ace move on. He’s replaced her presence with new memories of him and Ace, together, which is why he doesn't understand where he went wrong when Ace tells him of his latest endeavor at Sabo’s favorite coffee shop. 

“So there's this guy…”

“Isn't it too soon?” He asks through gritted teeth.

“Oh,” Ace says awkwardly, then starts to fidget. “It's been more than a couple of months but, uh, you think so?”

“As long as you're over her, I suppose,” he mutters darkly. 

His fingers clench into a fist as he racks through his brain for an answer. Since the break up, they've spent every waking moment together, practically lived in each other’s pockets. He couldn't fathom how he missed Ace developing an interest in someone else, how easily Sabo let him be stolen away, as if he didn't already learn his lesson in the most painful way.

How could he have screwed up again? 

“Maybe you should reconsider-” Sabo purses his lips and stops himself, glancing away from the questioning gaze. 

“How come?” 

Back when he had suffered through his first heartbreak and regretted every single day of not realizing his love sooner, he promised himself that the moment, if ever, Ace had moved on, he would confess wholeheartedly. He figures that now is as good of a chance as any, and he's going to take it before he makes the same mistake.  
Except he should've thought about what to say instead of blurting out, "I've been in love with you."

Gray eyes widen with shock. Ace looks almost horrified to hear it and Sabo feels like throwing up but instead of coffee, he keeps spilling his feelings. 

“-for a while now. Maybe since we were kids but I didn't know until recently.” 

“S-since we were-?!” 

Ace continues to stammer at him from the other end of the table. 

Ruefully, he wonders if he’s ruined their friendship and tarnished its history as well. His pulse is hammering in his ears and his feet are quaking with the need to escape but Sabo refuses to run away.

He owes it to himself to end this torture. If he receives his pardon through Ace’s rejection, then it’ll be set in stone and he will have to move on. 

“Do you wanna go on a date?” Ace asks eagerly. 

“What?” He couldn't have heard that right. 

“Like right now?” 

“Wait, what?”

“You don't want to?”

“But what about that guy?”

“What guy?”

“The one you were talking about earlier!”

Peals of laughter echo in the shop and Sabo is torn between throwing his coffee cup at his head, and leaving him behind if the other doesn't explain himself this very second. 

Ace senses his growing ire and smiles brightly at him. 

“Stupid, you are that guy. I was trying to ask you out before you shot me down.” A blush spreads across his cheeks, and Sabo feels a similar heat crawling up his neck. “And you said you were-”

“Uh, about that-”

“Hold on. So, the beach and the movies and the touchy shit. Was that you flirting with me?” 

“No!” He answers adamantly, then backtracks when he sees the flash of disappointment on his face. “I mean, it was less flirting and more of cheering you up. I wouldn't take advantage of you while you were getting over her!”

“I was over her months ago!”

“Still.” Huffing, he looks down at his cup then shyly glances at him. “Anyways... does this mean that you like me?” 

If this was all a joke or dream, he doesn't think he’ll be able to recover. He wants this so badly, he doesn't care if it's painted on his face. 

Ace ducks his head, like he’s avoiding making eye contact. 

“Yeah, maybe. Like a lot,” he says quietly. “It didn't hit me until what you said that night. The one about you making me happy. 

His mouth runs dry at the memory. At the back of his mind, he was hoping that Ace would've been too sleepy to remember that embarrassing slip of the tongue. 

The slight touch of his hand keeps him quiet. 

“And you do. Make me happy.” The slight quake in his fingers betrays his nervousness. Sabo hesitantly laces their fingers together and it gives Ace the courage to continue. “I really like being with you. I guess we’ve been hanging out together for so long I didn't know I could be happier beyond being friends.”

Ace chuckles to himself and lifts his head to look at him properly. 

“It’s dumb but it just clicked for me, y’know? It's why no one else ever matched up to you. So, I wanted to try.” His smile melts into a tiny smirk. “Plus, I thought you were cute for a long time, I figured it was worth a shot.”

“You think I'm cute?” He asks stupidly, unaware of the silly grin spreading across his face. 

“Very cute.” Ace hums and leans forward. “So… wanna go out with me?”

“Before I say yes.” 

Sabo reaches over the table, grabs a shirtful in both fists, and yanks him into a hard kiss. Ace makes a muffled sound of surprise before pulling him in closer, making no attempt at hiding eagerness. 

They pull away with a loud smack. Sabo plops down on his chair and clears his throat. “Alright. Yes.”

Ace is left flushed pink and breathless, and he he knows he isn't faring any better. 

“Kinda backwards, don't you think?”

“I think we’ve done enough waiting.”

  
  


When Ace announces that they're dating over the family table, the whole house erupts in cheers and shouts of relief. 

“Finally!” Luffy yells. 

“Finally,” Shakky agrees. 

“Fucking finally,” Dadan grouses. 

Ace stands off to the side, confused as the others congratulate Sabo and start their own party in the living room. Dinner is left forgotten in favor of drinks and desserts. Someone broke out the confetti. 

The two are soon left alone to themselves at the abandoned table. 

“Is it just me or is no one surprised at all.”

Sabo laughs and kisses him on the cheek. “It’s just you.”


End file.
